Legal Group: Repeal of D.C. Amendment Will Have ‘Severe Impact on Religious Liberty’

WASHINGTON — A Christian legal organization is warning that the recent repeal of an exemption that allowed private schools in Washington, D.C. to adhere to their convictions about sexuality will have a “severe impact on religious liberty.”

Liberty Counsel reports that the D.C. City Council passed the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 this week, which does away with an exemption afforded to faith-based schools to live out their beliefs on homosexuality. The exemption is better known as the Armstrong Amendment, which was passed by Congress in the 1980’s.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of the laws of the District of Columbia, it shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice in the District of Columbia for any educational institution that is affiliated with a religious organization or closely associated with the tenets of a religious organization to deny, restrict, abridge, or condition the use of any fund, service, or benefit; the granting of any endorsement, approval, or recognition, to any person or persons that are organized for, or engaged in, promoting, encouraging, or condoning any homosexual act, lifestyle, orientation, or belief,” it read.

But D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells proposed this year to repeal the religious exemption as he believed that it made provision for persons of faith to discriminate against homosexuals.

“A law that would allow such discrimination, including of transgender people, must be rejected,” he stated during a hearing over the matter earlier this fall. “I’m proud to say this bill will do that.”

But Liberty Counsel, which has offices in Washington, Virginia and Florida, sent a letter to city council this week stating that the repeal would in effect violate the constitutional rights of faith-based schools in forcing them to accept behaviors that they believe are sinful.

“The First Amendment directly prohibits government from prohibiting the free exercise of religion,” the letter read. “[A]ttempting to impose
employment regulations on church schools and religious schools whose doctrines and sincere religious convictions forbid homosexual or cross-dressing affiliation and employment is flatly unconstitutional.”

“It … cannot be gainsaid that the proposed act would severely infringe upon the religious free exercise rights of churches, religious organizations, and their associated religious schools,” it continued. “It would force them (under penalty of law) to violate their own beliefs and the teachings of Scripture when hiring teachers and staff, or when deciding to allow the use of their property, such as a sanctuary, fellowship hall, or classroom, for activities consistent with those organizations’ religious beliefs.”

In light of these concerns, Liberty Counsel finds the passage of Wells’ Human Rights Amendment Act to be dangerous.

“This vote will have a severe impact on religious liberty in our nation’s capital,” warned Founder and Chairman Mat Staver in a press release on Thursday. “Religious schools and church-affiliated schools must now choose whether to obey God or to obey government. In addition, if signed into law by the mayor, the law will trample the First Amendment rights of counselors to provide, and patients to receive, counseling consistent with their religious beliefs.”

“The unfortunate irony here is that this bill was passed in the name of ‘human rights.’ By restricting religious freedom, a fundamental human right, this bill is injurious to human rights and equality. It is my hope that Mayor Gray will refuse to sign this bill into law,” he said.

In addition to repealing the exemption for religious schools, the council also banned counselors in the city from engaging in reparative or conversion therapy.

“Liberty Counsel will continue to stand with the churches, schools, therapists, and families of Washington, D.C., in opposition to this restriction of religious freedom,” Staver said.

Photo: Andrew Weisman

A special message from the publisher...

Dear Reader, because of your generous support, we have received enough funds to send many audio Bibles to Iraqi and Syrian refugees displaced by ISIS in the Middle East. Many have been distributed and received with gladness. While we provide for the physical needs of the people, we seek to provide the eternal hope only found in Jesus Christ through the word of God. Would you join us by making a donation today to this important work?Please click here to send an audio Bible to a refugee family >>

Commenting Guidelines: We welcome readers to comment on stories, but we will not tolerate remarks containing profanity, vulgarity, violence, blasphemy, all caps or any discourteous behavior. Thank you for your cooperation in maintaining a respectful public environment where readers can engage in reasonable discussion about matters affecting our nation and our world.Read More →

Frank

And all those apostate, fake Christian, false teachers Jesus warned us about will actually follow, promote this repeal instead of standing for the Truth of Jesus. Just saying you are a Christian ain’t gonna save you God says. There is way much more than just saying some words and believing, God says. You must live your live in love to Jesus obeying His commands, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit because you love Jesus. Believing is just the start. If you stay stuck on a mental belief only and do not obey Jesus you have lost your first love, you are lukewarm and Jesus will spit you out. Wake up church, get the oil from Jesus. He is coming soon.

railhead

Actually, believing is enough to save anyone according to John 3:36, John 5:24, Romans 10:9, Acts 16:31, Acts 10:43, John 3:16, Romans 4:4-5. The problem is most people that say they believe don’t actually believe on Jesus, but instead believe on their own works (Matthew 7:21-23). And since they think works are what saves them, they lower the bar on what God’s commandments are, instead of knowing salvation is not of works (Eph 2:8,9) and being as tough on sin as the Bible is.

Ask most “Christian” pastors today how to be saved and you will get some answer that is not at all based on the Bible, like “make a commitment to Christ”, “repent of your sins”, “make Jesus the Lord of your life”; etc, none of which are found in the Bible. However, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” is directly from the Bible (Acts 16:31) and is given as an answer to the question “what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Ask 20 pastors how to be saved and see which teaching is most prevalent. I bet you’ll find zero that will say it’s by believing on Jesus and 20 who say it’s by repenting of your sins (aka works, Jonah 3:10)

Frank

Careful now. Seems we are saying the same thing but differently and from different angles. The problem comes in when people get stuck on a few phrases and forget God’s full definition of those phrases and the words as defined in the entire Scriptures. He is the Alpha and Omega not the Gamma only. Like you pointed out too many so call “Christian pastors” are stuck on Calvinism or once saved always saved and it’s offshoots. I chose the words and omitted words pretty carefully in the post. The entire scripture paints a different picture as many so called “Christians” are saying is the gospel. The full gospel.

railhead

There’s no need to be careful when quoting a verse that says “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ,and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Either you believe what it says or you don’t. God is not playing with words, he means what he says. I believe every verse of the Bible, and when it comes to how to be saved, the Bible is very clear. Believing on Jesus Christ is how to be saved. Of course, it has to be the Jesus Christ of the Bible, not an imaginary Jesus like the Jehovah’s WItnesses have who was supposedly Michael the Archangel.

Salvation is called “everlasting life” in the Bible. (John 3:16) If something is everlasting, it means it never ends. Therefore, it’s either “once saved, always saved” or “work your way to heaven”. Because if you can lose your salvation, it must be based on what you do, your own works, and not based on the work of Christ, which is already finished. Romans 11:6 makes it clear, you cannot have it both ways; it’s either all by grace or all by works. If you add works, grace is no more grace. The entire scripture paints one picture: faith in Christ is salvation. Adam tried the fig leaves, but God provided a sacrifice for him to cover him (Gen. 3:21). Cain brought his fruits and was rejected, Abel brought the lamb and was accepted (Gen 4:3-4). Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8). Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness (Rom. 4:3). All throughout the Bible God paints the picture that he will not accept our works, only our faith in Him. Then he just comes out and says it in the New Testament. To deny that salvation is a gift and that it is eternal is to make God a liar (1 John 5:10-12). That’s where I would be extremely careful.

Frank

Ahh, so you do believe in once saved always saved and we are not saying the same thing. Thank God He me that is not His doctrine. That doctrine has sent more people to eternal torment than quite a few other false doctrines. Cheap grace is no grace at all.

railhead

The blood of Jesus Christ was NOT CHEAP!!!

You had better think twice before you call God’s grace Cheap again. It cost Jesus everything to give me eternal life (that’s what the Bible calls it).

And by the way, the Bible goes a step further than you do, and calls grace a gift….

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A FREE gift

Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

John_33

It’s true that we need to believe to be saved, but belief must come with repentance for it to be a genuine belief – the devils believe but they don’t repent, nor are they saved. I can speak from my own experience that I was not saved until I repented from all of my sins. We can’t expect to receive salvation if we are holding anything back from God. He will not accept anything less than our all. Looking through the entire Bible, God’s message for salvation is consistent throughout. Ezekiel 18 talks about this in greater detail – when a man repents and lives righteously, God will spare him, and he will be considered righteous. Is that works-based? Yes, but it’s God’s work in our lives, and not ours since God is the one who puts His spirit in our hearts so we can live right before Him (Ezekiel 11:19). It’s important to know this since there are many false teachers in the world. Many claim to know God but their works declare that they do not (Matthew 7:15-16). Repentance isn’t a work. It’s a response to God’s work in our lives. 3,000 souls were saved on the day of Pentecost. Did they repent? Absolutely, but it was their response to the Holy Spirit’s conviction in their lives. Repentance is part of God’s plan for salvation – if we refuse to repent, then we cannot be saved since men will not come to God without it (John 3:19-21).

railhead

Repent- Re : do again Pent: same latin root as PEN zar (to think). “Repent” means to rethink. The Bible says in Hebrew 6:1 the foundation of our faith is repentance from dead works. Jesus said repent ye and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). The repentance needed for salvation is to rethink what you are believing in. This is why Jesus said over and over to “believe” without even mentioning repentance-because they are one in the same. In Acts 16:31 the apostles answer the question “what must I do to be saved?” with “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ….” Most people believe in their own works, which is what is being mentioned in Hebrews 6:1. Also, according to Jonah 3:10 turning from your evil way is work, so if that is what you define repentance as, you would be contradicting the Bible.
If you think you’ve stopped sinning, I’ve got news for you. The thought of foolishness is sin (Prov. 24:9). If you think you’re giving God your all, you may want to read through that Bible again. Do you watch filth on television? (Psalm 101:3) Do you listen to Satanic rock music, or secular music at all? (Eph. 5:11) I pick those two things because I haven’t found too many Americans who are free from those sins. Regardless, the Bible flat says if you say you are without sin, you are deceiving yourself and the truth is not in you. (1 John 1:8)
You referenced John 3:19-21, yet you apparently didnt read John 3:15-18, which say that believing is salvation. There are many false teachers out there, true, and the majority of them say that you have to repent “of your sins”, a phrase that never occurs in the Bible. Why would anyone use a phrase that is not in the Bible when telling someone how to be saved? Simple; they are not saved themselves, therefore they do not know how to tell someone else to get saved.

John_33

Thank you for your reply. This is vitally important since it deals with how to be saved and how to know God.

John the Baptist’s message of repentance was important since its purpose was to prepare the people before Jesus came. If the people’s hearts weren’t ready, then they risked missing the message of the gospel. One way that they could miss it was if their hearts were hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). That’s why John the Baptist preached “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” so the people would turn from their sins before Jesus came (Mark 1:4). The result of that preaching was that the people openly confessed and turned from their sins as they were being baptized (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:4-5). After John was put in prison, Jesus preached to the people to “repent and believe the gospel” in Mark 1:14-15. Note that it says in verse 14 that Jesus was “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” Repentance is part of the gospel, but it’s different from believing. Jesus said a lot about believing, but He also frequently talked about repentance throughout his ministry (Matthew 4:17, 9:13, 11:20-21, 12:41, etc.)

2 Corinthians 7:10 says that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.” This is confirmed in 2 Timothy 2:25-26 which says that God gives repentance to men “to the acknowledging of the truth.” Repentance is therefore needed first before men can believe the gospel since they cannot acknowledge the truth without it. These verses also demonstrate that men cannot repent unless God gives them the ability to do so; therefore, repentance is a gift from God and not a work. All of this goes back to what I was referring to when I cited John 3:19-21. If people don’t repent from their sins, then they will not acknowledge the truth and believe the gospel. We don’t need to struggle between choosing John 3:15-18 or 19-21 since they fit together perfectly. As verses 15-18 say, belief in God brings everlasting life and salvation, but verses 19-21 tell us that the opposite of everlasting life – condemnation – comes when men refuse to come to the light because they love their sins and don’t want their works to be reproved. The only way that they will come to the light is if God draws them to Him through the conviction of the Holy Spirit mentioned in John 16:7-11, i.e. through the godly sorrow mentioned in 2 Corinthians 7:10.

Repentance goes much deeper than changing one’s mind. The New Testament clearly refers to repentance as a turning away from sin. Revelation 2:20-22 and Revelation 16:11 both tell of a time when sinners will refuse to repent “of their deeds.” Revelation 9:20-21 is even more explicit and says that people will refuse to repent from idolatry, murders, sorceries, fornication, thefts, etc. While the Bible doesn’t tell people in a direct quote to repent “of your sins,” it tells us that men will refuse to repent “of their deeds” and names what those deeds are that men refuse to repent from. As a result, the Bible’s message of repentance is consistent throughout the entire Old and New Testament.

In Jonah 3:10, the works that are mentioned is the result of their repentance and not the repentance itself. This is what the fruit of the Spirit will always do – reflect what occurs on the inside to the outside. God wants our candles to shine before all men. That involves works, but those works are the result of the grace that He puts in us (1 Corinthians 15:10). This is what happened with the men in Ninevah. God gave them the opportunity to repent from their sins. When they did and turned to God, this was reflected in the works that they did, which when God saw this, He refrained from destroying them. This is also why God tells us to judge people based on their fruit – people’s outward works will always show whether their fruit on the inside is good or bad.

As for sin in our lives, it’s true that we have all fallen short; however, the Bible also says that the grace of God teaches us that we are to live godly in this present world (Titus 2:11-13). It’s a great joy to know and understand this since it means that we do not have to be slaves to sin while we are on the earth (Romans 6:14). God is actively involved in our sanctification to keep us pure. Consider the prophet Daniel. He was not without sin, yet he lived so close to God in righteousness that his enemies couldn’t find a single fault when they carefully looked for one (Daniel 6:4). There was no youthful indiscretion that they could point to, nor were there any careless statements that he made in the past that they could find. They found absolutely nothing. That’s the type of witness we ought to have. God understands that we can’t live like that with our own strength. That’s why Jesus died on the cross. He died so He could save us completely from our sins. Praise God that He is willing and able to give us all that we need to live holy and pure lives set apart for Him while we are here on earth. In return, we are called to offer our lives as a sacrifice to God and to do whatever He calls us to do (Romans 12:1). This includes repenting from our sins as He called us to do.

railhead

You’re right this is vitally important. It all boils down to this….are you tristing Jesus to get you to heaven, or yourself. The irony is, if you are trusting the fact you have “turned from your sins”, you have NOT actually repented, because you are still trusting in your own works, just like every other religion in the world. Hebrews 6:1 tells you what the foundation of our salvation is…repentance FROM DEAD WORKS. It’s so funny that people go around saying “you must repent of your sins” when the Bible never uses that phrase even one time. It does however say “repentance from dead works”, yet almost no one goes around saying “you must repent of trusting in works.” (I do, because it’s what the Bible says)

In the Bible that was translated during the time the word “repent” was still in common usage GOD REPENTED 35 TIMES in the Old Testament. This means the modern dictionary’s definition of “to turn from your sins” is inaccurate, because God has no sin. The word repent has always meant “to change your mind”. It’s interesting that Judas also repented in Matt 27:3, and went straight to hell. Repentance is changing your mind, period. God changed his mind in several places in the OT. Judas changed his mind. None of that had anything to do with salvation. That’s why the one book that claims to be written to get people saved (John, John 20:31) doesn’t even use the word “repent.”

You can’t have it both ways, according to Romans 11:6, it’s either all grace or all works. It’s not grace to do the works. If you are saying you have to do anything other than trust in Christ to be saved, you are basically calling God a liar. I dont mean to be blunt, but that’s exactly what the Bible says in 1 John 5:10-12.

1Johnn 5:10 “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 11 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 12 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
According to the above verse, in order to be saved you must believe the record God gave of his son. In he tells you what the record is; that God has GIVEN to us ETERNAL life. That means (1) it’s a gift, not earned, and (2) it lasts forever, that’s what “eternal” means. If you don’t believe those things, you are calling God liar.

I’m trusting Jesus alone to get me to heaven. If I have to add obedience to God’s law or anything else, I would have grounds to boast (Eph. 2:8,9), because after all, I would have had done something to help get me to heaven. But there will be no boasting, Jesus paid it all, my friend. I will be rewarded for obedience in heaven, or chastened for disobedience in this life, but salvation is exactly what it claims to be…SALVATION. Not a 12 step program to help you amend your ways and earn heaven, but someone else saving me. Many people will some day stand before God listing all their “many wonderful works” and be sent to hell (Matthew 7:21-23). The reason being they did not do the will of the father, which acording to John 6:40 is to see the son, and believe on him, and have everlasting life.

The question is do you believe this verse means exactly what it says:

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John_33

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” ~ Psalm 66:18

When a person repents, they are declaring before God that they are guilty before Him and that they need His forgiveness. There is nothing to boast about or trust in since repentance is a turning away from sin and a cry to God for help (Luke 18:13).

Repentance isn’t just a change of mind. There needs to be a change of action as well. When God repented, He changed His course of action. Of course God doesn’t need to repent from sin, but when God repented, He turned from what He was going to do and did something else. That’s what we need to do with sin. We need to turn from it (like how God said in Ezekiel 18) and do righteousness instead. The Bible cannot get clearer than this. We are called to turn away from sin (Mark 1:4).

You are right when you say that salvation is not a twelve step program. We are saved by God through grace alone and not works, but if we are really saved by grace, then the natural product of that grace will be obedience to God and His commandments (Romans 6:18-19). We obviously cannot do that on our own. That’s why salvation is by grace. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, God now offers to put His Spirit and laws in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). We can obey Him through His strength and His Spirit. There is nothing to boast about since this obedience is given to us (Philippians 2:13).

Just as obedience and belief are both gifts, so is repentance. We cannot repent without God giving it to us (2 Timothy 2:25-26). That’s why repentance cannot be a work or something we can trust or boast in – it’s purely a gift from God that we can choose to accept or not when we are offered it. Repentance, charity, hope, and faith are all crucial to the Christian walk, but we aren’t supposed to put our trust in any of them for salvation, only in God.

The idea that it’s okay for us to continue to live in sin is completely foreign to the Scriptures. God has called us out of sin and warned that we risk getting the plagues if we stay (Revelation 18:4). We are also warned in another passage that we will be punished as unbelievers if we continue to walk in sin (Luke 17:32-33, Luke 12:46). We are also warned by Paul that we will die if we continue to refuse to mortify the lusts of the flesh (Romans 8:13-14). That’s why this is so important. There are a number of people who think that they are Christians who will cry “Lord, Lord” in the end, but they will be condemned because they disobeyed God and were deceived.

We need to look at all Scripture to understand salvation. I believe John 5:24. We need to hear Jesus’ word and believe on Him for salvation. We also need to repent from our sins to be able to acknowledge the truth (2 Timothy 2:25-26). We also need to confess our sins to Jesus for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). These verses do not contradict John 5:24; they support it. Furthermore, repentance from sins is included in Jesus’ parables with the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:17-19 and with the publican in the Temple in Luke 18:13. Obedience is the mark of a child of God, and that includes repenting from our sins, not because we are trying to earn anything through works, but because God has called us to repent and has given us the opportunity to do so.

railhead

Once again, in 2 Tim. 2:25 you are adding something that is not there, as you are in other passages that say “repentance”. God grants someone repentance “to the acknowledging of the truth”. In other words, they change their mind and acknowledge the truth. That makes perfect sense. And God does have to grant that to someone who is believing a false gospel, because they are deceived. However, you are CHANGING “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” to “repenting of your sins”. That verse says NOTHING about sins whatsoever. In Romans 4:4-5 it plainly says that someone who does no works is saved just by believing. Also in Romans 3:28, it states a man is justified withot the deeds of the law.
So my question is why do you automatically add “of sins” every time you see the word repent, when you even acknowledge the fact that God repents, and God has no sin? “Pent” comes from the same Latin root word that we get the Spanish word “penzar” and the English word “pensive”. It has to do with what you are thinking. This may or may not include a change of actions, AFTER the repentance.
Jesus said repent and believe the gospel. By my definition, that means change your mind and believe the gospel, which makes sense because people will need to change their mind to believe in Jesus for salvation. But by your definition, you are saying Jesus is saying turn from your sins and believe the gospel. You just said God grants the repentance to those who believe, so this statement would be totally backwards and contrary to everything you just said. Because the repentance would come after they believed and became a child of God, by what you just said.

John_33

I didn’t say God grants repentance to those who believe. I said God grants repentance as a gift to those who are willing to take it and obey Him first, and then belief. Jesus said to turn from their sins, and then believe the gospel. That’s why John the Baptist came first with the message of repentance, and then Jesus came. First repent, then believe. That’s what 2 Timothy 2:25-26 says.

As far as 2 Timothy 2:25-26 goes, read the whole passage. The sinner that God is granting repentance to is caught in the snare of the devil. The repentance frees him from this snare. You may debate the passage, but it proves that repentance and belief are two separate things; that repentance is necessary for salvation; and that repentance must come before salvation. You said previously that they were synonyms.

Regardless, this whole debate is silly. You are trying to debate the meaning of 2 Timothy 2:25, but you are ignoring Mark 1:4-5, Revelation 9:20-21, Luke 18:13, and a host of other scriptures that attest that we must repent from sin. 1 Corinthians 7:9-10 says that godly sorrow leads to repentance which leads to salvation. Is that telling us that we need a change of mind to be saved? No! We need more than a change of mind. We need a spiritual rebirth that cleanses us from sin! Why do we receive godly sorrow? Because of our sins! What are we repenting from then? Our sins.

Also, what about all of the verses I quoted warning of the dangers if we continue in sin? Obviously those scriptures are telling us to leave sin altogether or we suffer the consequences. The entire gospel includes the fact that we must leave sin.

railhead

Jesus did not say “turn from sin and believe the gospel” he said “repent and believe the gospel”. You are translating “repent” as “turn from sin”, in spite of the fact God repented 35 times in the Old Testament, clearly demonstrating that repent does NOT mean turn from sins. If God can repent, it obviously has nothing to do with turning from sin, and if you say it does when it is talking about us, why is the same word used?

This all boils down to changing the meaning of a single word. In Mark 1:4-5, John the Baptist preached repentance, very true, and amen. However what was the repentance John preached?

Mat 21:32
” For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”
Notice, they repented not that they might believe him. In other words, the repenting they needed to do was to believe! This EXACTLY lines up with the definition of “repent”, meaning to change your mind.
Luke 18:13 proves my point even further, because all this man did was say “God be merciful to me a sinner” and he went home justified. He didn’t stop sinning anywhere in that verse.
2 Cor. 7:9-10 is talking about people who are already saved, but even if it was talking about repenting of sins by unbelievers that would not mean every other instance in the Bible of the word “repent” means “of our sins”
The warnings in the Bible about living a godly life are there because God will chasten his children, like a good parent does. (Hebrews 12) But if you think they are there because we will lose our salvation, tell me why the Bible calls salvation “everlasting life” if there is a chance it doesn’t last forever? And why does Jesus say “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” in John 3:15? Is Romans 10:9 a lie, which says “that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Nothing about truning from sins in those verses. Were the Apostles forgetting something in Acts 16:31 when they said “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thine house.” I mean they forgot to say anything about turning from sins, if that is part of salvation they just totally misled the Phillipian jailer.

John_33

You are going back to topics we already addressed. When it says that God repented, it means that He turned from what He was going to do and changed His course of action. When it tells us to repent, it’s telling us to change our course of action too. What good does it do if we change our mind but not our actions? Could you picture a bank robber who knows it’s wrong to steal, changed his mind and believes it to be morally wrong, but he does it anyways? Is he any less a thief? Christ didn’t die to make us aware of our sins. He died so we could part from them forever.

You said:

This all boils down to changing the meaning of a single word. In Mark 1:4-5, John the Baptist preached repentance, very true, and amen. However what was the repentance John preached?

Look at the fruit it produced. John’s preaching resulted in people confessing their sins while they were in the water. That’s real repentance. It also said that the baptism of repentance was for the remission of sins. Again, repentance is seen as part of salvation in the Bible yet again. This passage is quite similar with Jesus’ command in Luke that repentance and the remission of sins should be preached to the entire world (Luke 24:46-48).

Look at Luke 18:13 in detail. The publican wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Why? Because he was humbly crying for mercy. Why did he cry? Because he was declaring that he was sinful before God and knew that he needed mercy to save him – repentance from his sins and confession. He walked home that day justified because he humbled himself and called for salvation in repentance. It doesn’t make much sense to argue that the publican continued living in sin after his plea for mercy. Twice in the New Testament we find that Jesus told people to stop sinning. He even warned one of a curse if he didn’t stop (John 5:14). Jesus doesn’t tell us to do things that we are unable to do. With us, it’s impossible to stop sinning, but with Jesus all things are possible. We don’t have to fall, nor do we have to live with sin. Remember 2 Timothy 2:19:

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

As for everlasting life, I do believe that it’s everlasting, but those warnings in the Bible are real, and they are meant for believers and nonbelievers alike. If anyone is found living in sin, the Bible says that they will die and not go to heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Notice that it says in verse 11 that “such were some of you” and not “such are some of you.” The Christians that Paul was talking to were no longer covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, etc. They were saved and transformed by Christ and the Holy Spirit. That’s the gospel message: that we can be saved and cleansed from our sins due to Jesus sacrifice on the cross.

Gary

Freedom of religion is mentioned in the US Constitution. Homosexuality is not. The supporters of homosexuality are now trying to elevate, as a right, something that is not mentioned in the Constitution above what is mentioned. The question is, how long are they going to be allowed to do this? When does the revolution begin?

Neiman

Once we kicked God out of the public square and the affairs of this nation in 1962; we sowed the seeds wherein there would be no more religious liberty for Christians in this country. Day by day we see at every level of government this perversion of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religious express, it will continue, it will get worse and the spiritual forces of the anti-Christ will continue to attack the Christian Church until even private belief, as they did in the old Soviet Union and still mostly in the Peoples Republic of China, will be a crime against the State, a criminal matter that will seek to not only destroy faith, but be used to persecute Christians.

If the ammendment is repealed after giving it a valiant effort, the next step is civil disobedience. Simply disregard the change and do what you were doing all along.
I work in a Catholic school and although we are certain lessons on human sexuality to teach- the administration exercises their right to use discretion and evaluates if the children are ready to hear some things. The children are not ready and they never will be, so we don’t teach it- EVER. And there’s no way short of holding the teachers hostage, that they can force someone to say what they don’t want to say. As Andrew Jackson once said “You have made your decision, now let them enforce it!”

BarkingDawg

Openly violating the law may lead to a law suit and or civil fines and penalties.

“If the ammendment (sic) is repealed after giving it a valiant effort, the next step is civil disobedience.” That certainly is an option worth considering.
BTW, disregard the comments of the naysayers who will respond to your comment. They are Atheist trolls on a Christian forum.

Well as the old saying goes “don’t feed the trolls”. I used to be a /b/tard long ago so their comments don’t phase me. In fact I could probably show them a thing or two on the subtle art of trolling. Watch and laugh as I mess with the morons below… basically I’ll make a nonsense comment to which they’ll precede to flip their lid because of course “the Internet is serious business”. BTW a /b/tard is a reference to someone who goes onto the /b/ forums of 4chan. 4chan if you don’t know is the “hate machine” of the internet.

Yes, caturday. The day created by our beloved ceiling cat in all his bewhiskered glory. All hail hypnotoad….I mean, ceiling cat!

SashaC

Are you seriously bragging about being a /b/tard?! I’m going to send you the hospital bill from how hard you just made me face palm. I’ve never cringed so hard in my entire life. I’m torn between amusement at your cluelessness and utter mortification for you.

You’re responding aren’t you? Please continue to respond. It’s fun to make you jump. I’m sure you get a tingle up your spine when you see I’ve replied back. “Oh I’ll get em this time!” I’m in ur head makin u do things.

SashaC

Oh, hun. Lol! You’re almost cute, trying so hard. I continue to respond because I don’t even respect your entry level “trolling” enough to consider you one and because you amuse the hell out of me. Nice try to get me to stop responding though. I successfully use that tactic all the time. But sadly, you just aren’t that good.

You’re always going to hold a special place in my heart, love. You’re one of the first people I obliterated, when I found this site. You didn’t know the difference between scientific law and scientific theory. My guess is that you still don’t. It’s still one of the most embarrassingly stupid arguments anyone has ever made on any of the sites I frequent, and that’s saying a lot, lol. I always enjoy watching you make a fool of yourself. Thank you for that. 😉

Now, you can come back at me with all your false bravado, and play your pigeon chess, but we both know how this exchange has made you feel. Then again, you may truly be too stupid to feel the embarrassment a brighter person would, at how badly you always make a fool of yourself. Perhaps that’s your god taking pity on you.

I will read your predictable response and I will laugh at you, but I won’t waste my time responding. I’m not so cruel as to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person. Consider yourself dismissed. 😉

The Last Trump

“I will read your predictable response and I will laugh at you, but I won’t waste my time responding. I’m not so cruel as to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person. Consider yourself dismissed” she says AFTER A FOUR PARAGRAPH RESPONSE! Ha! Ha! Seriously, too funny!

And please continue to “dismiss” us (*snicker*) when the conversation isn’t going so well for you. There’s nothing sexier than a woman with power! Such a turn on!

All hail the Queen! 🙂

SashaC

Aw, is that the best you can do? That tells me I was on the right track, thanks! 😉 Sorry if I use paragraphs to get my point across, lol. The fact that you seem to think there’s a correlation between length of current response and my decision not to respond further to her is not surprising, considering how illogical you people always are.

You sound like you’re still bitter from the last time you embarrassed yourself, while clumsily trying to debate me. Sorry if your feelings were hurt, though I do enjoy that I had such a profound and lasting effect on you. While I’m flattered that you seem to want to worship me, I have a minimum IQ requirement for my subjects. Sorry! 🙁

The Last Trump

Hee, hee! You bait takers! And no dismissal for me!? 🙁

Ahh, that memory of yours. To date you have never actually “dismissed” me nor have you won a debate. 🙁

I was hoping to experience one or the other sometime soon though? I’ll check back every once in a while to see if you’ve made any progress. 😉

As you were. Kisses! (Ooops. Was that one of your lines? Sorry!)

SashaC

Oh dear, I must really have gotten under your skin! You just used four paragraphs to respond to me! Lmao! 😀

“Hee, hee!” Seriously? Lol! You poor thing. I hope I’m not being mean to a 13 year old girl, here. Though it would explain you thinking that you’re being clever and/or fancying yourself a troll, yet failing miserably. I suggest getting your money back from the /b/tard, since it seems she’s been giving you lessons.

Oh, we have debated and you know it. I know you’re slow, but hopefully not that slow. Since you say I always dismiss people when the conversation isn’t going so well for me, yet you insist I’ve never dismissed you, that must mean I beat you quite handily. Not surprising, really, but thanks for admitting it, lol! 😉

The Last Trump

C’mon Sash! Let’s not fight. You don’t really want to be mean to anybody, do you? Let alone a 13 year old girl! Is that really why you are here? To be mean?

Seriously. I’m really not here to fight. Unfortunately these sites tend to bring out the ugly side in all of us, particularly when feeling attacked about something we feel passionately about. You frequent this Christian website often, do you not? What is the attraction for you, dear woman? Do you identify as a Christian? Do you dislike Christians? Why are you here?

Surely you understand that most Christians are simply striving to live up to the expectations of God Almighty, as indicated in the Bible. It’s not about hate or bigotry.

I do wish blessings to you and yours and a very Merry Christmas Sasha! And I hope that you find whatever it is you seem to be looking for on this site.

Huh. 4 paragraphs. Again. 😉

SashaC

But I love the sparring! I don’t get that if we speak civilly, lol! 😉

Primarily, I come here because it amazes me that people think the way that many here do, tbh. Many of those views bring out the mean side of me, as you mentioned. I very much enjoy a friendly debate, I just go to other sites for that. It seems that the people here are quite extreme, so this is more a source of amusement than anything else.

I am an atheist, but I have nothing against any group, Christians included. I have many Christian friends. I agree with your statement that most are simply trying to live by the tenets of the bible. I don’t consider many of the views expressed here to be particularly Christian though. Too much anger, hate intolerance and victim mentality.

Thank you for the blessings. I wish you a very Merry Christmas as well! 🙂

Wow. It looks like you’ve sent her over the top! See how she continues responding! And the great length of her responses! Almost to the point of babbling. Somebody struck a nerve.
And I do enjoy how she tries so desperately to appear like she isn’t trying at all! And then goes on for FOUR paragraphs! Too cute. 🙂

“Basically I’ll make a nonsense comment to which they’ll precede to flip their lid”. Wow. That worked ridiculously fast! Sash must have been hungry for another argument. Gobbled up your bait in record time, girl! It appears to be very important to Sash that she be our “queen” where trolling is concerned. She even attempts, rather embarrassingly, to “dismiss” us from her court! Hee, hee! Gets me every time. 🙂

Your comment is way out of line. There’s nothing wrong with what she told me. Go stalk someone else somewhere else.

SashaC

I’m not listening.

Anyway, you didn’t understand, nor do you have any idea what she’s even talking about, you old coot. Or are you a /b/tard as well? Lmao! She may as well have been speaking Mandarin Chinese to you. So shut it.

James Grimes

Have you noticed the foul mood he is in? Insults are the best he can do. When one does not have Jesus as his Lord and Savior, one sees all believers as threats to his lifestyle. Anyhow, I will let him wallow in his misery and only pity him. To answer him would be a waste of my good time.

How is the Lord’s Day for you so far. Blessings.

CarolinaSistah

Christians have no business being shocked at evil! God’s Word has warned us that these things will occur. The question is — will you endure and abide in Christ until the end or receive the mark of the beast? Lord please give me the courage and faith to abide with you!

Rita

Carolina, If you are covered by the blood Of Jesus Christ [jn:3-16 and Rom 5:8-11
you don’t have to be here when the mark is offered, we will be out of here. Read your bible the holy Spirit is a great teacher. I will pray for you,

CarolinaSistah

I am covered by the blood of Jesus and I don’t appreciate your unrighteous ‘judgment’ that I don’t read my Bible.

I do read my Bible and I don’t believe in a pre-trib rapture. There are Christians being murdered all over the world and I don’t believe God is a respecter of persons to spare us in the west. Our persecution is just beginning here in America. Our faith will be sorely tested and ‘he who endures to the end will be saved’. I’ll pray for you to humble yourself and not be as the one who ‘thanked God he was not as the others’.

KenS

While you are correct that christians are being murdered all over the world, the tribulation will be from God not mankind and the bible clearly teaches that his church will be gone and will escape the wrath to come.

CarolinaSistah

Indeed, Christians are protected from the wrath of God, but nowhere in scripture are we promised freedom from tribulation. Jesus clearly warns His disciples that they will be jailed and even killed for their faith.

De 4:30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

Mt 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Ac 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Ro 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

1Th 3:4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

Re 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Re 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

KenS

again you are confusing God’s Tribulation with man’s tribulation. Jesus warns us that we will see tribulation on earth from men because of our belief in Him. but he also tells us that we will be spared His wrath during the great tribulation. the people you are referring to in rev 7:14 are those who are saved and come out of the great tribulation after we have been raptured.

James Grimes

You are correct, Carolina. Stay true to the faith and your reward will come. Have a blessed day.

BarkingDawg

Good for the city.

This is a good move. There really is no place for this kind of discrimination and religious based hatred in our society.

bowie1

Be careful! Next time they may come for you! Are you really in favour of the city’s bigotry?

BarkingDawg

Who is going to come for me?

The right wing Christians who want everyone to conform to their narrow beliefs?

The city is not being bigoted, they are restoring equality.

Too bad if you don’t like it.

bowie1

Nonsense. This is about private schools being able to set their own policies which if you are not part of it is none of your business what those policies are. You don’t have to conform to their narrow beliefs since it is not a taxpayer funded school and you are an outsider who has no right to meddle in their affairs like some busybody. In fact they can show you the door if you have a problem with their standards. P.S. If you are so dead set against the school setting its own standards why would you be against Christians imposing their values on you if that would happen you HYPOCRITE!

BarkingDawg

The school is still a buisness and as such is subject to local regulations

KenS

the school is not a buisness, it is a religous organization that is teaching its students biblical standards, to say that it is a business would be no different that saying that a church is a business because it pays its pastor a salary.

BarkingDawg

I wouldn’t hang your hat on that interpretation.

KenS

Parents send their kids to these schools for that exact reason, so yes I will hag myhat on tht.a This is exactly why my kids go to a church school in order to keep them from being taught that the gay lifestlye is not a sin.

Gary

Religious based opposition to immorality is a Constitutional right for American citizens.

Demopublicrat

Now you’re showing hatred to those who disagree with you – quite hypocritical. There really is no place for this kind of discrimination and sexual deviance based hatred in our society.

railhead

America is going down the Romans 1 road, and the end of it is total savagery. It begins with nature worship (evolution) (Romans 1:21-23), then descends into rampant fornication (Romans 1:24), then to “vile affections” (homosexuality) (Romans 1:26-28); then from that springboard it’s off into the deep end of moral ruin and chaos (Rom. 1:29-32).
Personally, I think the problem is in our churches. Some poll on the internet (not sure how scientific) said 76% of Americans identify as Christians. But what is a Christian in America? “Love, love, love” and “don’t judge” are poured out along with “feel good” preaching with no Bible verses, no mention of God’s wrath, and sensual rock and roll music instead of hymns of the faith. I hear all these catch phrases coming out of the mouths of Christians at work like “hate the sin, love the sinner” but never a Bible verse. And you talk to them about homosexuality and they just shrug and make jokes about it. It’s not funny any more, it’s destroying the moral fabric of our society.

bowie1

It seems to me the D.C. is guilty of blatant discrimination based upon religious beliefs so this ordinance should be tossed out as being illegal and contrary to the first amendment. We wish Liberty Counsel success in having it tossed out by the court.

BarkingDawg

No, they are trying to remove blatant discrimination.

Clawing your hatred is based on a religious belief is a bit self-serving.

Gary

Religious freedom is guaranteed to US citizens by the US Constitution. You would have to amend the US Constitution to make this DC law constitutional.

BarkingDawg

Religious freedom can not be used as a basis to deny someone their basic civil rights.

You are making the same argument that the racists made against blacks 30 years ago,

Gary

There is no “basic civil right” to force people to accept immoral behavior. Homosexuality is immoral because GOD said so.

Neiman

That same old lie, goodness when you guys get a good lie you never let go of it do you?

There is absolutely no comparison between race and homosexuality, one is an immutable characteristic and the other is depraved sexual conduct.

The Last Trump

“That same old lie, goodness when you guys get a good lie you never let go of it do you?”
Like a dog with a bone! 🙂

KenS

A private religous school employing only persons that believe the same religious doctrine is not denying anyone any basic civil rights. Please enlighten me on what civil rights are being denied here?

BarkingDawg

One major problem with that argument is the unique status of Washington DC as a federally managed territory.

Most of the religious schools in DC receive some form of funding from the government, primarily through the voucher system, but also in the form of numerous other grant programs.

As such, they are subject to civil rights laws.

Rita

Gary, Do you believe we still we have a whole Constitution? We wont have if we don’t have the courage of our Forefathers!

BarkingDawg

If none of you live in DC, then it’s not really your issue, is it?

Gary

Yes, it is. If this goes in DC, it will be unfair to the people in DC, and it could spread to other areas.

BarkingDawg

I have news for you. Anti-dsicrimaination laws are already on the books in over 20 states.

Gary

That is a shame.

Demopublicrat

Then don’t discriminate against people for their views.

BarkingDawg

It’s not your views that are the problem, it’s your actions.

Demopublicrat

As are theirs.

BarkingDawg

==========

” As are theirs.”

==========
No.
You are mistaking the private actions of an individual with
the public acts of an institution.

One is none of your business. The other is the business of
everyone associated with that institution.

Demopublicrat

It’s not very private when it ends up in the schools now is it, and it has no business there.

KenS

hello, this is a private school, not public and therefore it does have business there because the government has NO business in a private school and therefore there is no establishment of religion.

See, you liberals dont want to stop with the public schools, you want to wipe out christianitiy everywhere

Demopublicrat

Who are you replying to? If it is me, you liberals really need to read content more carefully.

KenS

IM not a liberal, I’m conservative . I am replying to your comment that there is no place for it in schools, as I pointed out in my comment, this article is talking about private religous schools, so therefore it most definitely does belong and it is not an establishment of religion since it is not a government/public school

Demopublicrat

You might want to re-read the above posts.

KenS

okay, I have reread and it still looks to me that you were saying that it had no business in a school. I will tell you again, that the article was talking about private religious schools and therefore it does have business there and the government has no business regulating it because it is not run by the government and therefore has no establishment of religion by the government.

Demopublicrat

I was saying that GAY has no business in school.

KenS

okay, i agree with you on that, sorry I read it as you saying that Religion had no business in a religious school.

Victoria DiAgnello

Yes, this is an Acts 5; 29 case. We must obey God rather than man. It is never okay to teach that it is not a sin because it IS a sin. Christians must be prepared to stand up and do just that and not cower to caesar due to persecution. If you can’t even do that, what will you do when the persecution gets worse, like in the middle east, as it will do? Whatever means are available in this way, do them, if you avoid teaching about sexuality, then do that, whatever the Lord leads you do to (which will never be anything other than stating that homosexuality IS a sin, i.e. you can never say that it is not, etc.). Be prepared to not deny your faith in the face of any opposition. That is the battle that lies ahead. And yes, it is a big deal to God not to deny His name and His truth.

Get Breaking Christian News in Your Inbox!

Sign Me Up! Top Daily Top Weekly

Christian News Headlines

Keep your site fresh and your visitors coming back by featuring Christian News Network's top news stories on your site. Learn more →

Connect With Us:

Learn More

About Christian News Network

Christian News Network provides up-to-date news and information affecting the body of Christ worldwide from an uncompromising Biblical worldview. Our objective is to present the news with the word of God as our lens, and to bring to light what is hid in the darkness. Learn more →